*as you read through this post, have Thrift Shop by Ryan Lewis and Macklemore [link attached] play in the background, as I did when I was posting this:)
My husband is - for lack of a better word - cheap. He means well, but it really puts a wrench in most of my design plans. This just makes me work ten times harder to find the best deal out there and still maintain the integrity of my design.
Where do you go for such deals you ask?
Goodwill, duh!
I'm obsessed. Luckily I can soothe my infatuations less than a mile from my house!
Of course I also take a stop into TJ Maxx that's right next door and Pot Belly's too, but that's a topic for another day..
I usually get to GW once a week and I can definitely tell when I haven't been in awhile. ...wow, it really is sounding like an addiction, huh?
First, I scout out the furniture - usually I don't find anything because a) It's already been picked through or b) it's too far gone for me to restore. Then, I quickly skim through the fabric - I hesitate here because I think of all the smells and germs festering on the fibers. BUT, if I found something I just couldn't pass up, I may have to look past that. After fabric, is frames! All different sizes! I haven't found many large ones that I like, but boy did I find the cutest little ones - EVER!
These are my favorite ones:
I've have stacks and stacks of them! I can't wait to get more on the walls:)
This thin gold frame is so simple and understated - it goes perfectly in any space. The best part is, they're only $2 a piece! I grab a few each time I stop in because filling the walls sometimes gets expensive - especially if you have a large wall to fill. You can fill them with family photos, vintage fabrics or papers, basically anything that you can get to lay flat. These will also look great mixed in with different frames:)
After I pull myself away from the frames, I head into my favoritest section ever - glassware! Bet you couldn't have guessed that..
Luckily I picked a house with ample cabinet space - because if I didn't we would be building a shed to keep all of my findings.
I feel like old glassware is the best because it is so unique.
Here are some of my favorite glassware finds:
Vintage coffee pot! How cute is this little guy? I actually found this one at a local thrift shop a little further down than Goodwill. I remember the day I found this gem - it was down the "junk" aisle that I never go down but I decided "What the heck?". So glad I stepped out of my usual route that day:) This cutie was only $2 too!
I use this when I have people over - to serve coffee and have it sit on the table. No ugly coffee pot to mess with my table setting:)
These are my all time BEST find. Ever.
The story is what makes them really..
One cold Sunday afternoon.. I'm just kidding - I don't know what day or what the weather was like when I bought them! Ha!
BUT - it did take me THREE trips to get the full set.
Trip one - I found three adorable cocktail glasses with little carriages and vintage cars and intricate gold detail. I hesitated because there were only 3.. Oh well, they were too cute to pass up. $3 total
Trip two [ sometime in the next couple of weeks] - I found all 4 of the taller drinking glasses - wahoo! $4 total.
Trip three [WEEKS later] - I found the last cocktail glass - I literally couldn't believe it. I couldn't get to the checkout line fast enough so I can put my little Cuppy family together again! $1
Total set of 8 - $8!
WHAT? Awesome right?
Okay, this one is my favorite. Am I saying this about everything? Yea, probably, sounds like me..
This little relish tray caught my eye on the way out of the store - boy did I stop in my tracks. You know how I feel about gold - I had to have this. My favorite thing to find at the thrift stores is serving ware specifically. I like to have an eclectic array of options when I set the table or prepare for a party - this guy fit the bill. I believe I snatched this one for $3? Not bad. I actually just set it on the kitchen table to be a catch all for keys and change and such - I'll see how that works for a few weeks:) I love the fact that I can see it everyday now - not just lost in a cabinet!
I found this vintage Pyrex tray in the same aisle as the coffee pot - officially my favorite aisle I guess:) Of course the gold struck me as soon as I saw it - duh. I don't have many trays so it didn't take much convincing to snag this one. $3 for him too.
I would really like to take full credit for this find - but I can't.. My good friend found this at GW. We went on a thrifting trip to a few different places and she's real good! The blush color was what sold me first. I went back and forth with this one, "What am I going to use this for?" "Where am I going to put it?" "Why do I need another jar?" I already have a place for my coffee - I believe that was the intended use for this. DOG TREATS! Boom - decision made. $3 I think is what I paid for this one too.
I love finding littles. I literally just now came up with the term "littles" and I think I'm going to use it forever. If anyone watches American Pickers - they call little trinkets and toys "smalls" - I now have my own version, cool:) The clear one with a GOLD rim was like a buck at the thrift shop a couple miles down the road - great find. Of course I bought two.. I have one my the front door to hold loose keys and I plan on using one for my vanity [ if I ever get one...] The little white pot I purely bought because it says "You never had it so soft" written in gold.. Maybe I'm a perv or maybe I just like vintage things - I don't know. I did some research, and it's actually a mini chamber pot [link attached]- I'm a little confused what you would do with a mini version of a chamber pot... I conveniently attached a link for you to research yourself the meaning of chamber pot.. And to save myself the embarrassment of having to say it..
On that note..
If that doesn't make you want to get out to the thrift shop - I'm not sure what will! Next time you walk through those musty smelling aisles - think beyond what you normally search for. It's a dirty job but it's oh so rewarding when you come home with an armful of bags for $7!
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I scoured a couple of my favorite sources for curtains and I have a set for the dining room and a set for the office! Now I need to find rods...
I'm sorry for the delay as far as designing goes.. We are at that point in our list that we have to shell out actual dough to get stuff done. The next few projects are quite expensive :/ Whomp..
On the plus side - Husbie and I have plans tomorrow to hopefully bring some really cool info to the table for you guys! Stay tuned:)
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